West Ham spending won't stop at Carroll

West Ham co-chairman David Gold has told the club's supporters that his search for a striker will not end, even if he is successful in his expensive pursuit of Liverpool's Andy Carroll.

The Hammers have been in negotiations with Liverpool and Carroll over what has become a complicated transfer of a striker who cost the Anfield club £35m when they signed him from Newcastle in January 2011.

While Liverpool have agreed a fee with the Hammers for the transfer of the 24-year-old, negotiations over the wages, length of the contract and loyalty payments for Carroll are believed to have been a stumbling block in recent weeks.

Yet with the deal for Carroll now close to being concluded, Gold has now confirmed he is also hoping to bring a second forward to Upton Park, as he took to Twitter to confirm his ambitious summer spending plans.

When asked whether he hoped the club will sign a striker in addition to Carroll, he was unequivocal in his response. "We must bring in two quality strikers," stated the Hammers chief.

Chelsea striker Demba Ba and Vitesse Arnhem's Wilfried Bony have been linked with moves to West Ham in recent days, after Gold and his co-chairman David Sullivan confirmed their ambitions for the summer with what proved to be a failed £14.5m bid for Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo earlier this month.